A foreigner flies the flag for Britain

One of the things that was lost in the recent robust debate about non-doms and other foreign nationals who choose to live and work here is the disproportionately large contribution they make to cultural life.

As the argument ebbed and flowed, it always revolved around tax and wealth creation. It never recognised the wider contribution foreign nationals living here make to society and the cultural life of the capital.

The British may have embraced huge American-style bonuses but they have been noticeably less willing to embrace the American concept of giving it back in the manner of Bill Gates, Warren Buffett or Hank Paulson. There are exceptions, but the generosity of non-doms in our midst generally puts the locals to shame.

Look at the list of donors in the programme at the Royal Opera House, Tate Modern, Festival Hall or many of the leading charitable appeals, and no one can be left in any doubt where much of the big money comes from. The fact that this got barely a mention inside or outside Parliament speaks volumes for the ignorance that was the context for much of the debate.

Some of the contributors to that thinly veiled outbreak of xenophobia might well hang their heads at the news that one of these foreign nationals - not, I believe, a non-dom although that is between him and HM Revenue & Customs - has today given the largest-ever donation from an individual to a British museum.

Unlike, say, Sir John Sainsbury, who chose to finance a wing of the National Gallery, few people outside the shipping world will have heard of Sammy Ofer or his Zodiac Maritime or Tanker Pacific fleets, for he has never been one to seek publicity. He is nevertheless one of several foreign shipowners who have for many years operated out of London to the benefit of themselves and the City - and unlike most of the others, his ships flew the red ensign.

Today, he is donating £20m to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich to make possible a £35m modernisation that will render it one of the leading attractions in London and confirm its position as the leading maritime museum in the world - and all in time for the 2012 Olympics and its thousands of visitors.

Ofer was introduced to the museum by its chairman, his long-time friend and former P&O head Lord Sterling, who has led the project to transform the museum for the 21st Century - so he was dealing to some extent with a kindred spirit. Nevertheless, the gift is the more noticeable for being so unusual. If rather more of those who get these massive City bonuses were seen to be similarly generous, they might find there was rather less resentment of their luck in the community at large.

Powers the FSA finds hard to use

A lot of people were waiting for yesterday's Northern Rock report from the Financial Services Authority to see what revenge it might be planning to visit on the directors and officers of the Newcastle bank for their role in bringing about the debacle which has led to the organisation having to be nationalised.

They were doomed to disappointment because it was not that kind of report. Rather, the focus of the inquiry was on the procedures and shortcomings of the FSA itself and how it proposed to do better in future. In fact, those who think that the Northern Rock board, the non-executives and/or former chief executive Adam Applegarth should be subject to the disciplinary processes of the FSA are likely to continue to be disappointed.

In theory, the FSA has the powers to throw the book at directors when it suspects and wants to prove that there has been a breach of duty. In practice, its powers have proved very difficult to use. The FSA found this out the hard way after the collapse of Marconi, where it sought to call John Mayo to account (he being the principle architect of the policies that destroyed the company).

They never announced this, of course, because FSA policy is only to make these things public when the proceedings have run their course, as to do anything else might be considered prejudicial and damaging, particularly if the accused gets off. Be that as it may, the Mayo inquiry went on for months but his counsel proved more than a match for the FSA, and in the end he left without a stain on his character, as they say in such circles.

If it proved impossible to nail Mayo, the FSA may be understandably forgiven if it believes it would prove similarly impossible to pin anything on the Northern Rock principals. And on the basis of one bitten twice shy, they seem very reluctant to devote time energy and money to making the effort.